Trump-Kim summit has 3 possible outcomes

Longtime diplomats fear two scenarios.

One is usually in which the mercurial American president, who just erupted in fury at Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, perceives failure or disrespect via Kim in which draws him toward military conflict. Trump calls in which moment for diplomacy “a one-time shot.”

“A worst-case outcome is usually clearly a return to a path toward possible war, like back in 2017, because of irreconcilable differences about a deal combined that has a breakdown in how they get along,” says Michael O’Hanlon, who advised President Clinton.

The various other worrisome prospect is usually what Richard Haass, who advised both presidents Bush, calls “catastrophic success.” In in which scenario, Trump’s hunger for an historic triumph leads him to give too much, such as withdrawal of U.S. troops in which protect South Korea in addition to project American power inside region.

“A deal to leave the Korean peninsula without any verifiable nuclear rollback” represents the worst-case, says Danielle Pletka, a former Republican Senate aide at the American Enterprise Institute. Last weekend’s blow-up at the G-7 in Canada, by producing Trump more eager for success than he was already, leaves veteran diplomats worrying in which odds of in which result have risen.